Various different constructions of drums are known, which are also known to produce different sounds when the musical instrument is played. A common drum construction comprises a cylindrical shell having an open top end across which a head or skin spans. Typically a peripheral rim provides tension to the head across the open end of the shell.
A similar construction is also known to be applicable to other instruments, for example a banjo.
When forming a rim of wood material, typically several layers of wood are laminated such that the wood grain spans in a generally circumferential direction with the finished construction comprising several plies in the radial direction. U.S. Pat. No. 6,916,977 by Hagiwara and U.S. Pat. No. 7,462,770 by Dunnett disclose two examples of multiple ply wood material in a rim or a hoop for a musical instrument.
US Patent Application Publication 2008/0041215 by Wang describes a natural wood hoop surrounding a metal rim. The metal rim is intended to provide greater strength to withstand a striking action of a drumstick however, the metal is believed to have a negative effect on the natural wood sound of the rim.
A known construction of drum shells includes the use of wooden staves abutted with one another in a circumferential direction in a conventional manner as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,301,519. The conventional construction of a stave drum shell however typically requires a very large wall thickness in the radial direction to provide sufficient gluing strength between adjacent staves.